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#afislash
surreality51 · 2 years
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I just rediscovered my old LJ account from 2007-2010 dedicated to AFI slash fanfic. It’s always weird unearthing a part of your past, but in this case it brought a huge wave of nostalgia and bittersweet wonderings. Because for me, being part of the AFI bandslash fandom was as much about the fellow fans I met as about the band we all loved. That was the first fandom where I actually joined in and met people (virtually, under online handles or first name only, but still) instead of lurking like I always and still do. It was a time and a place in my life where I felt intensely alone and yet these fellow fans were reaching back to me and saying, “yeah, I feel alone too. Let’s be lonely together.”
And now it’s been over a dozen years since we’ve all scattered, gone back to our real lives. It’s been years since I’ve listened to an AFI song. Even the places where we used to gather — afislash.com and LJ — are long gone.
The band recently played a live show, their first in 3 years. I didn’t even know about it except my husband works with a family member of one of the band members and that person mentioned to hubby that they were going the show. I watched the fan recordings from the show on YouTube and that just triggered this whole avalanche of memories and feelings.
I googled the old handles of my fellow AFI slashers but found nothing, just LiveJournal accounts abandoned over a decade ago. No Tumblr accounts with the same handles, no AO3 accounts, not even Twitter. It’s like we all melted back into reality.
It’s funny because it’s been a while since I’ve felt lonely, but trying to find your old friends and coming up empty will do that to you. I didn’t miss them a month ago, before these memories came up, but I miss them now. I wonder where they are, what their lives are like, did they find what they were looking for. Do they still remember the old days, chatting on the forums, trading snippets of fics like friendship bracelets, posting a new fic and waiting eagerly for the person you wrote it for to scream with you in the comments. It was about the band, yes, but it was more than the band.
I think about how back then I would’ve screamed internally if I met anyone even distantly connected to the band (“omg you were in Adam Carson’s second grade class?”) Now my husband works with one of their family members on a daily basis and I can’t find someone to scream about it with.
Life is strange.
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sparkinsidewrites · 4 years
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sparkinside master list
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Blacking the Looking Glass {Adam Carson/Davey Havok}
Sometimes its easier to hide than to face who we truly are. Caught between honesty and fear, Davey is forced to make a choice.
Culpabilité {Adam Carson/Davey Havok; Adam Carson/OFC; AU}
A glimpse into a life shattered. (warnings: character death; grief; alcohol abuse; depression)
Échec Et Mat {Adam Carson/Davey Havok; NSFW}
He may have lost the battle, but there wasn't a chance in hell he'd forfeit the war.  
Hearts in Pain {Adam Carson/Hunter Burgan; Adam Carson/OFC; AU}
The choices we make have long reaching consequences, whether we choose to face them or not. (warnings: cheating/extramarital affair)
Brave {Adam Carson/Davey Havok; AU}
Truth has a funny way of coming out. Especially at four in the morning.
The House Wins {Hunter Burgan/Jade Puget; NSFW; AU}
You don't have to be alone to be lonely, you might as well give in.
Reflections {Adam Carson/Hunter Burgan}
In the dark, its easy to look back on our choices and wonder where everything went so horribly astray.
Coffee Date {Adam Carson/Jade Puget; Fluff}
It really should not have been this complicated. It was just a simple question. Any idiot could do it. So why was he having such a rough time with it?
Désastre {Adam Carson/Jade Puget; Fluff}
Sometimes the worst possible outcome can have the best possible results.
Lonely {Adam Carson/Hunter Burgan; AU}
Friends for years, Adam Carson and Hunter Burgan had faced college, med school, and the real world. But can one night and one impulsive action change everything.
Some Days I Wish I Didn’t Have A Tongue {Adam Carson/Hunter Burgan; AU}
The truth has a funny way of coming about. Sequel/Companion piece to 'Lonely'
We’re Recording {Hunter Burgan/Jade Puget; NSFW}
Jade decides Hunter has been working far too hard, especially on Christmas, and drops in to offer a much needed distraction.
When You Catch Fire {Davey Havok/Hunter Burgan}
You can only push someone so far before everything falls apart. Written with Chaosti. 
Minutiae {Adam Carson/OFC}
Adam finds himself musing one night on tour.  
Promise {Hunter Burgan/OFC}
Memories fill their home and wading through them is harder than she ever could have imagined. (warnings: major character death; grief; loss)
Snow Day {Hunter Burgan/Female Reader; NSFW}
Playing in the snow.  
I’m Good For Nothing Will You Love Me Just The Same? {Hunter Burgan/Female Reader; Hunter Burgan/Smith Puget; NSFW}
The trails and tribulations of a complicated friendship
Patience {Davey Havok/Jade Puget; NSFW}
A test in patience makes for a fun morning.
The Last Time {Adam Carson/Davey Havok; NSFW}
He always swore it would be the last time. So why does he keep finding himself back here?
Anymore  {Adam Carson/Jade Puget; Adam Carson/OFC}
There are two sides to every story. Companion to ‘The Embrace’
Tell Tale Signs {Adam Carson/Davey Havok}
Endings are never easy.  
Rhythm {Adam Carson/Davey Havok}
Some times all it takes is the right incentive.
Deconstructing Gods {Adam Carson/Davey Havok; Davey Havok/Jade Puget}
You can only push someone so far.
Truth or Consequence {Adam Carson/Hunter Burgan; NSFW}
The truth is he’d always been a coward. (warnings: cheating/extramarital affair)
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A collection of vignettes featuring various pairings. (warnings: cheating, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, death)
One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten  Eleven  Twelve
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Davey is the sole witness to a brutal murder. Adam Carson is the agent assigned to protect him. When the lines between duty and love blur, trouble is the only outcome. Written with Havoksangel. (warnings: murder, violence, sexual assault) Complete
One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten  Eleven  Twelve  Thirteen  Fourteen  Fifteen  
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{Adam Carson/OFC; Adam Carson/Davey Havok} Faith and fear are two of the strongest forces in our lives. Adam had never questioned himself or his beliefs. But what happens when he stumbles across his greatest temptation in the eyes of another man? Written with Havoksangel. (warnings: cheating) Complete
One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten  Eleven  Twelve  Thirteen  Fourteen  Fifteen  Sixteen  Seventeen  Eighteen
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{Adam Carson/Davey Havok} Creating a balance between what was and what is strains the ever twisted relationship between Adam, Aubrey, and Davey. Sequel to The Devil Inside. Written with Havoksangel. Complete
One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine
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{Adam Carson/OFC} There are always lines, always limits, and learning when to cross them, when to risk it all can be the hardest lesson to learn. In-Complete
One  Two
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{Adam Carson/Jade Puget; Character Study} There were several things Jade had always been sure of and his relationship with Adam had always been one of them. But people and situations change and most times no one is prepared for the fallout. Complete
Prologue |  I. Implosion | II. The Fallout | III. Half-Life | IV. Pieces | V. Recovery  
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{Adam Carson/OFC; Hunter Burgan/Jade Puget; Davey Havok}  In a time of devestating war and destruction, five young children witnessed their world come crashing down before them. Twenty years later, they have risen above the chaos to lead their once war-torn land, Allyria, into an era of peace. But the serenity they have brought may only be the calm before the storm as a powerful force from beyond their kingdom threatens to tear their world, their kingdom and their lives apart. Can they rise above the wreckage or will Allyria fall into the darkness building steadily on the horizon? Written with FadingStar. (warnings - Graphic depictions of violence, death) In-Complete
Prelude:12 | Prelude:21 | One
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coreydanna · 5 years
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AFIslash
Anyone remember this site? There was a story, I’ve been trying to find it after years and years. It was an AFI Titanic crossover and man it was just beautiful!! I don’t remember the author or the title, but it featured Davey as the Rose character, he was a southern plantation owner or something, and Jade as Jack. Hunter and Adam were the guys in the crows nest possibly? Lol I wish I could read it again, I miss it. If you wrote this, or know who did, please tell me!!! 🖤🖤🖤
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teenagedeathboys · 3 years
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Imagine submitting fan fiction to the AFI bodies experience. If only the year was 2003...
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intoevernightfanfic · 3 years
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M, S, X!!!!
Thank you @ruddcatha ;3; ❤️ I love getting these
M: A person who got you into a fandom and what fandom they pulled you in to.
It's been a long time and I don't know where they are now, but I met a friend via an anime fandom back in 2007 who was also in the alternative scene at the time. We both liked the same types of music, and around this time, I was obsessed with AFI's Decemberunderground. It'd come out the year before, but I'd finally gotten my hands on a physical copy of the album. Anyway, they also loved AFI, and they introduced me to AFIslash, where I first started getting involved in the fandom. That site is long gone, but it was fun for a couple of years. I don't talk to people from that fandom anymore except maybe once in a blue moon, but I credit a beta reader from that fandom for helping me improve my dialogue and get it to where it sounds more natural. I learned a lot about writing there.
S: What's a headcanon you have?
Ah, being put on the spot with it makes it hard to remember them. XD I'd say a silly headcanon I have is that Tomoe goes commando LOL. A more serious one would be that Yukiji and Tomoe had a toxic relationship built on imbalance, desperation, and emotional neglect. That's just my interpretation and me filling in the gaps based on what we do know about their personalities. I'd always be interested in reading what someone else thinks.
X: 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms.
1. Tomoe/Nanami ofc 😊💖
2. Inuyasha / Kagome
3. Yona / Hak (Although that slow burn is killing me, how dare 🤣)
I like other pairings for other fandoms, but "yes, these two DEFINITELY belong together and it's good for both of them" and "aww they're cute; I hope they end up together" are two different moods.
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coldeternalarchive · 9 years
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Mirror, Mirror
Paring:  Javey
Title:  Mirror, Mirror
Author: Coldeternal, yours truly.
Rating: PG Pgs 16-22
“Well,” Jade managed, nearly an hour later. “I’m not exactly sure how you could ever top that. I honestly don’t think I can move!”
“Oh I have an encore for you, maybe not quite as good, but some plans I think you’ll like now that I know I have you all to myself for the night.”
“Okay,” Jade pulled the sheets up over them both as the sweat on his body began to cool him off quite rapidly.
“First I shall put you in the shower, scrub you from head to toe and wash your hair, then I will wrap you up in a nice, fluffy towel, take you back out here and give you a back rub, then I shall find some kind of sustenance for you to nosh on while I change our sheets, and then we shall sleep the sleep of children who have exhausted themselves from too much playtime. What do you think?”
“What have I done to deserve all that?” Jade laughed, delightedly.
“Why do you feel like you have to do something to justify someone being nice to you?” Sebastian took his hand and bit gently on the tips of Jade’s calloused fingers. “What did you do? You existed. You made music and had the courage to be exactly who you are with no apologies. You, Jade Puget, were born. You live.  And right now you’re going through hell and damn it, you deserve someone taking care of you.  That’s enough.”
“Wow . . .” Jade was nearly speechless. “That was beautiful. I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me if you’re able to stand up and walk, and if you are, we’ll go get cleaned up.”
“I think so.” Jade struggled to sit up.
The only thing he did not like about the bathroom was the brightness that assaulted his eyes from all directions. Bright white tile gleamed and shattered the dreamy mood the dim room behind him had just conjured as the sun sank into the horizon. The shower was turned on and after the water heated, he and Sebastian stepped inside.
Sebastian immediately positioned himself behind Jade, getting a loofah sponge and saturating it with shower gel.
Slowly he began rubbing it in circles up and down Jade’s back, across his shoulders and down his arms. Jade sighed happily, the hot water feeling exquisite on his skin and the motions of the sponge was almost enough to lull him to sleep. He leaned a hand on the white tiled wall, yawning as Sebastian scrubbed his legs and ankles.
“Lean your head back and close your eyes.” Jade stretched and yawned again, the closing his eyes part would be very easy. “Close them tight, don’t want any shampoo getting into luminous eyes of yours.” Sebastian slid right up behind him, skin gliding against wet skin, having to stand on his tip toes and lean into Jade to properly wash Jade’s hair. Jade was instantly awake again.
“Have you ever had sex in here?” Jade asked, only half joking.
“That’s the advanced class!” Sebastian laughed, massaging Jade’s scalp with his long nails. “I’m just a beginner.”
“Didn’t feel like it earlier.” Jade nodded to the bedroom and reached back, running a slick hand down the side of Sebastian’s thigh.
“You’re sweet.” Sebastian leaned in to kiss and lick the center of Jade’s back. “And sweet tasting as well. Now stand back under the water so I can rinse this out and no opening your eyes until I say.” Sebastian’s long fingers tickled through Jade’s hair, working out the lather.
“Better than a salon.” Jade sighed as Sebastian began to rub conditioner into the wet strands. Finally Jade couldn’t stand the touching anymore without reciprocating. Carefully he turned around and brought his lips down on Sebastian’s as the water cascaded down on the both of them. Jade opened his eyes. For all the rushing water, the dark eyeliner still clung to the corners of Sebastian’s eyes and the mascara and lip liner remained as well. Jade slid a hand up to caress the adoring face that peered up at him.
“Can I, um, “ Jade was suddenly embarrassed. “Can I remove the rest of your make up?” He’d always wanted to do that with Davey, take a warm cloth and gently remove all the traces of make up from his perfect face. It seemed like it would be kinda sexy. No one came in between Davey and his make up though, and Jade never had the guts to ask.
“You really want to see me without anything on?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow, not realizing how ridiculous this sounded since they both stood there naked.
“I think you’d look beautiful without anything on.” Jade smiled, letting the hand travel into Sebastian’s thick, soaking wet hair. He pulled it back a bit and stared. Behind his ear, Sebastian had a small black heart tattooed.
Exactly the same place as Davey’s. It was almost enough to send Jade spiraling into another wave of lost memories.
“Nice,” he mumbled to himself, fighting to stay in the present.
Sebastian reached over to the shower rack and opened a small box of cleansing cloths, handing one to Jade. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back and Jade tenderly coasted the cloth across his eye lids and underneath to his cheeks and lips. As each area was cleaned of cosmetics,
Jade placed a delicate kiss there, just as he’d longed to do with Davey.
Though Sebastian did look a little different without make up, he still had the thin, pale lips, big brown eyes and ghostly skin. To Jade, he was still beautiful. Jade smiled approvingly and leaned back to rinse the rest of the conditioner from his hair.
Minutes later they were wrapped in towels and Jade was on his stomach on the bed as Sebastian rubbed, kneaded and caressed his back and shoulders. It was as if his fingers knew exactly where to go, drawing out each individual muscle strand and pulling, rubbing, and pressing until a warm relaxation worked it’s way deep into Jade’s body.
When he was done, he simply lowered himself on top of Jade, resting his head on the back of Jade’s neck, his arms on Jade’s arms. Jade sighed contentedly, enjoy the feel of the weight on him and the warmth of Sebastian’s skin on his own.
“So what do you feel like eating, love?”
“Whatever happens to be right on top of me will do fine!” Jade smiled.
“Seriously, you should have something to eat, give you something to do while I change the sheets.”
“I don’t even feel hungry honestly.”
“Are you sure you don’t want anything before we go to bed? I have chocolate soy milk.” Sebastian smiled enticingly as he rolled off Jade, pulling him up from the bed.
“You’ve been waiting for me, haven’t you?”
“Only my whole life.”
Later, after milk and a cookie or two, Sebastian stretched over Jade to turn out the light, when he could have easily done it himself. He simply wanted to take advantage of any excuse there was to touch him, and knew their time together was running out.
“You know,” He whispered in the darkness. “I know I’m just an imitation, but I do hope it works out for you and the real thing. If it doesn’t though,” He slipped an arm around Jade’s waist, laying his head on his chest.
“Please promise me you’ll take care of yourself. I know you love him, but there’s a whole other world out there too. Try not to lose hope about everything. I know it’s hard, especially when you love someone so much.”
“Yeah, it is. I’ll try, for you. Thank you, you’ll never know what this meant to me.”
“It was my honor and my pleasure and if I do nothing with my life from this day forward I will know I did something grand. Probably small to you, but grand to me, and it is something I will never forget. It was my pleasure to help.”
“It wasn’t small,” Jade chuckled to himself. “It was the world on a string to me and I thank you. Good night.”
A new day dawned hours later and Jade Puget felt like a new man. It was funny how far a little love, attention and genuine affection could go. Sebastian loaned him what little make up he could use, not caring much for the colors the young man had chosen, and even let him have the bedroom dresser mirror first, while Sebastian used a small corner of it for himself later on. The mirror was big enough for the both of them, but Jade was amused that Sebastian wanted to sit back and watch him put everything on first.
“Wonder if there’s any paparazzi or fangirls around here.” Jade mused as they walked hand and hand back to the Jade’s hotel, which was quite a ways away, though neither seemed to mind the long walk. “We both look so good, and you do need a souvenir of your adventure!”
“Are you sure, I mean . . . we don’t want to end up in the Enquirer or something!” Sebastian laughed, swinging their arms as he went.
“I’m not ashamed to be seen with you! Why would I be!? I left my phone but there’s gotta be a photo booth or something here somewhere. I want to give you something to remember me by.”
“Oh trust me I have plenty!” Sebastian felt his neck. “But I’d never refuse the offer of a handsome stranger.”
“Not a stranger after last night.”
“What new friends will the day bring? One for one thousand acquainted . . .” Sebastian smiled as he sang, blushing slightly.
“You are just a singing fool aren’t you?”
“Sweet Jade, oh my sweet sweet Jade,” Sebastian continued to sing, knowing this was his last chance to do so. “Heavenly widening roses, seem to whisper to me, when you smile.”
“How do you find so many songs about me?” Jade laughed.
“I find songs about a girl named Jane and then I make it about you.  Do I sound like a stalker?”
“Ah, clever and beautiful! And you’re my stalker so it’s okay.” Jade sighed as they finally
found an arcade with a souvenier photo booth. They took three sets of pictures, each keeping one and splitting the third. It was getting late though and they caught a cab to the hotel. “Walk me up.” Jade insisted, pulling Sebastian out with him.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
Outside the hotel doors, they stopped to say their goodbyes, but one kiss turned into several, and the kisses got more deep and more passionate with each touch.
“Uh, Jade! Baby! This is your hotel, maybe we shouldn’t–!  You were making jokes about the fan girls but you know there are some here--”
“Fuck ‘em!” Jade mumbled, gripping Sebastian’s hair in both his hands as they kissed.
“Keep this up and you’ll have to take me on tour with you.” Sebastian teased.
“Wish I could.” Jade grabbed Sebastian and pulled him inside, borrowing a pen and paper from the desk clerk.
“Keep this and get a hold of me sometime.” He presented the paper to Sebastian. Gently Sebastian took Jade’s hand, pressing it back to him without taking the paper.
“I have no right to intrude on your life, Jade. If things work out between you and Davey, and I hope they do, you might not still think what we did together was a good idea. It may not be something you want to remember. I’ll let you be the judge and I’ll let you be the one to contact me.” He pulled out a business card and slipped it into Jade’s pocket.
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sparkinsidewrites · 4 years
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Shadows Mind: Murder - Prelude part one
Title: Shadows Mind: Murder
Chapter: 1/?
Character/Pairing: Adam Carson/OFC; Hunter Burgan/Jade Puget; Davey Havok
Genre: Angst; AU
Rating: T
Summary:   In a time of devestating war and destruction, five young children witnessed their world come crashing down before them. Twenty years later, they have risen above the chaos to lead their once war-torn land, Allyria, into an era of peace. But the serenity they have brought may only be the calm before the storm as a powerful force from beyond their kingdom threatens to tear their world, their kingdom and their lives apart. Can they rise above the wreckage or will Allyria fall into the darkness building steadily on the horizon? Written with FadingStar. In-Complete
Authors Notes/Warnings:  Nothing in this piece ever happened. I claim no ownership nor do I make any sort of profit from this, other than pride and a sense of amusement. Graphic depictions of violence. Death.
Prelude 12
“Is it coming along well, love?” a soft voice asked. A boy, slender and young, most likely twelve, at first sight, looked up and around from where he was seated with a book in his lap, back pressed against a rather large oak tree. The boy, named David, but more commonly called Davey, smiled at the approaching figure of a woman. By the small mouth, lean angular features, and river of midnight tresses that they shared, it was easy to see that the two were related, the only real differences being in their builds, sexuality, and eye color. Davey’s eyes were brown, soft and quiet, like that of a doe’s, while the woman’s were a bright, confident, green.
“Very well, mother,” Davey told her. He had a soft voice, again something that seemed to have been given to him by the woman standing above, as quiet as his eyes and just as warm, when he wanted it to be. Right now, as he beamed up at his mother, he did indeed desire that quality, and gave it to her. Those who knew this boy would sometimes say they felt privileged for that warmth, it could be that impassioned, at times. “I’ve gotten nearly a quarter’s way through it since this morning.”
“That’s very good, David,” she said, showing yet another trait her son had received through her, as she gave him back the warmth of his smile with her own. “But do you understand what you have read?” She smoothed back her simple but nicely tailored skirts as she sat down cordially beside her boy in the soft spring grass. Watching her, Davey, even after so many years, could not help but to be awed with almost every move that his mother made. She exuded some sort of unearthly grace, like there were no bones in her body, just some sort of poetry of blood, sinew, and elegance that made even a breath by her seem artistic. Her large, doll-like, yet soul piercing eyes, met his, telling her son she expected a good answer.
“I think what Master Thais is to convey to the reader is that reason alone cannot guide one through life,” Davey said, closing up his book to show he was not drawing any knowledge from it. Or at least he was giving her his own interpretation of what the knowledge within the text. “That you have to also allow your emotions and instincts to lead you. That you should embrace both mortality and divinity to become a person who is complete with the world.”
“And is that a possible?” she asked, a grin lighting her emerald eyes. “Can a human perceive with all of those things? Think for themselves in that way, David?”
Davey regarded her in silence, knowing this was a test. Marcielle Marchand was always giving him these little tests, it was her way of keeping his mind sharp, shaping it to be as wise as her own. And Marcielle, as the headwoman for their little seaport village, was very wise indeed. She had to prove it often enough, and not only just because her position required it, but because her sex coupled with it demanded it. Marcielle had proven that her title was well given many times, gaining respect from even the harshest of her male critics within Mendel Cove.
“Well, I believe that, many people are capable of that, Mother,” he began after thoughtful silence. “Really, no one, who is born with the necessary mental position, is not capable of it. The problem, however, is that many people do not wish to be capable of it and ignore the gift of their conscious.”
Davey resisted a complacent smile as his mother quirked a slender ebony brow at those words. Being self–assured, he reminded, himself, was the first step to self–destruction. Marcielle had ingrained that within his mind from the cradle, and he would not be so foolhardy to forget it now. Still though, he allowed himself to be just the tiniest bit pleased on the inside that he had given her an answer she both liked and had not fully expected him to speak.
“Hmm...explain your thesis, son,” she finally said, Davey could see, with glee, she too was trying to hide a smile, one of pride. Pride was also a brick on the roadway of self–destruction.
“Generally, people don’t want to possess this capability because it’s just easier for them to ignore it,” he said. “Human beings, by nature, find more reason and pleasure by taking the easiest path in life. What path in life is easier than allowing their conscious to be lead? It’s a point proven in the fabric of government, religion, and war. Without willing followers and leaders then not one of those institutions would be possible in the slightest.”
Marcielle gazed at her son for several more long moments, her eyes guarded and secretive as they ever were. Just when Davey had begun to doubt himself though, she was smiling again, gently, just a touch of pride in her verdant irises. She reached up to pass a long fingered hand through his black tresses.
“Your answer is good,” Marcielle said, a smile, as bright and warm as the delicate May sunshine that flooded the little field in which they sat. “I daresay your father would be inclined to agree with you.”
Davey blushed a little from the compliment. His father, a scholar, had died when he was barely two. Lyell had been a man greatly respected in the cove for his intellect, greatly respected along the whole Sapphire Coast, his mother had always loved to tell the story of the day one of great Lords came to Mendel Cove, seeking Lyell’s advice. In all truth, Davey greatly enjoyed that tale as well, it was one of those eternally aching, secret, wishes that many keep to converse with his father, to know the man he had been. But it was one that he could never have, save for his dreams, so he tried his best not to contemplate it very much. He didn’t believe in false hopes.
“You know,” his mother spoke, jerking him from his inner musings. “In all honesty, I didn’t expect you to be here, doing your school work today.”
It was Davey’s turn to raise a single black eyebrow. “And why is that?” he questioned. “Have I ever disobeyed you before, when it came to my studies, Mother?”
“No, you’ve never really disobeyed me yet,” she told him, an amused light in her eyes keeping her plush red lips turned up. “But I simply told you that this book would be your reading for the day, my love. I told you not a word about finishing it. It’s such a lovely day, I did not actually think you would have the restraint to sit here and read it.” His mother’s eyes flicked towards the harbor that the little field which they sat in, overlooked.
Davey smiled as he finally caught the gist of her words. On a day like today a twelve year old such as Davey should very much be sailing down the coast with his friends in his close companion, Adam’s, little boat. The thought had indeed passed his mind, but there were circumstances beyond his control that prevented the plan. Of which he told his mother.
“Hunter’s father needed help down at his workshop,” he explained. “Jade’s little brother ran off and his mother sent him off to fetch him. Kali had a row with her mother this morning, so the priestess ordered her to her rooms all day. Adam said it wouldn’t be any fun with just the two of us, so he went to spend time with his father. There was nothing else for me to do, so...” he raised his book with a chuckle that his mother joined in with.
“Ah, well, perhaps you should go and see if Rissa has let Kali out then?” Marcielle suggested, continuing to preen her boy’s midnight locks. “Or just track her down, because I assure you she is out.” His mother gave a small laugh. “I saw her headed towards the practice yards. I think her intentions were to convince Adam to spar. A pity, her mother had set her hair up in such a lovely little plait.”
Davey laughed outright at the thought of Kali with her hair neatly arranged, it did not suit his friend at all and he decided at once he must see if it were true. It would be a wonderful thing to tease her over if it was.
“Go on,” his mother chuckled, prying the book gingerly from his fingertips. “Go, have fun with your friends, David. Childhood doesn’t last long, my love.” Davey smiled at his mother, adoring her all the more for her generosity and understanding as much for her unthinking grace, and leaned into kiss her on the cheek.
“Thank you, Mother,” he told her sincerely after pulling away and standing.
“You’re welcome, dear,” she told him with equal love in her eyes. Her smile became playful as she took the book and gave him a gentle swat on the rear. “Now off with you! Don’t give me time to rethink my offer, child.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he laughed, and without another thought or word had started running towards the slope of the cliff, the gentle curve that separated away from the rock face on it’s left side.
Marcielle watched her only child go, beaming in a way that only a happy mother could. She was right, she knew, childhood would not last long for her boy.
Across town, the wide blue eyes of another boy stared in wonder at the man seated before him, listening intently to the tale falling from his lips. Behind him the light crackle of the fire filled the room. Each word that filled the air captivated him. It didn’t matter that he had heard them a hundred times over. Every time they seemed to take a on a new life, they changed and for that reason alone, Adam Carson would sit and listen to them a hundred times over again.
At just barely thirteen years old, Adam had spent his entire life in the small seaside village of Mendel Cove, dreaming of the people and lands his father had spoken of in his stories. He wanted nothing more than to make his way into the world, to find the honor and the glory his father spoke of. To become a soldier as his father had been. When he wasn’t helping his father run the small, but successful, shop in the center of the village, he was in the training fields in the soldier’s fort with anyone willing to spar.
More often than not, his sparing partner were his friends Hunter and Kali. He had known both for as long as he could remember. They had spent many a summer’s day sneaking off to the training fields along with their less combative friends, Davey and Jade, often times staying there until the sun began to set over the rolling waves of the sea, sparring and chasing each other around the archery targets. The soldiers still occupying the fort had been long time friends with Adam’s father and simply laughed off the children’s antics.
Truth be told, Adam enjoyed sparring with Kali far better than he did with the rest of their small group. The only girl in their midst, Kali was light and quick on her feet, she made him work twice as hard, never let him off his guard, and he was the better fighter for it. With each practice, it became apparent, within their little group, that Kali and Adam were going to be the ones truly excelling at the combative arts.
Garret Carson knew of his son’s activities, and while he did not approve, he knew there was little he could do to stop him. Adam had inherited his mother’s stubbornness and determination, something Garret both cherished and cursed. Lisette Carson had been a strong-willed and passionate woman., that was one of the many reasons Garret had fallen in love with her. She was full of bright ideas and big dreams, helping her husband build his shop and working there each and everyday, morning til dusk even after she had found out she was with child.
Lisette had passed away shortly after giving birth to their tiny son and Garret had taken it harder than any had expected. For the first few months of his young child’s life, he barely spent a moment’s time with the boy, throwing himself into the shop. Rissa, Kali’s mother had acted both as wet nurse and mother in that time. As priestess and a close friend of both Lisette and Garret, she could see no other path for herself.
As the months slowly passed by, Garret began to warm to his son, his only remaining link to the woman he cherished. He watched his son grow into a bright and active child, questioning and full of life as his mother had been. And Garret supported and encouraged that quality in him. It would serve him well as he grew, though he did his best to instil the importance of family, of loyalty to those you love, in Adam’s mind. He had learned the hard way just how quickly life could be snatched away.
“Adam,” the soft voice of a young boy echoed from beyond the door, accompanied by several steady knocks. Garret paused his tale, looking up thoughtfully at the boy before him. With a nod, Adam pulled himself to his feet, lumbering quickly to the door. With a steady tug, pulled it open to discover his friend, Davey, staring at him with his signature smile.
“You finally pulled your nose out of that book,” Adam teased. It was well known, amongst the group, that the boy standing before him absorbed knowledge like a sponge, reading any and everything his mother placed in front of him. When he was able to pull himself away, even for a moment, his friends were there tease him, lovingly of course, about it.
Davey simply cocked his eyebrow. “At least I can read,” he countered with a knowing smirk.
“Oh hush, you.” It was not to say that Adam did not have the ability to read, he simply saw little value in it. He could read the orders at the shop and the signs along the town, but beyond that he saw no use for reading. He would be a soldier, what did he need books for?
“I think that will conclude our tale for the time being,” Garret called from inside the darkened cottage. Adam turned quickly towards his father, saddened to not hear the conclusion of the story, but hopeful that he would be allowed to head out, even for a few hours. “You boys go and entertain yourselves, but mind my boat, you hear. If she comes back maimed, you will both get a beating neither of you have ever dreamed of.” This was added with a smile, though the boys faces had grown considerably paler. “And mind you to keep Kali out of trouble, I know she’ll be heading out with you. She has that knack of falling into it, though sometimes I wonder if it’s the company she keeps.” Garret raised a knowing eyebrow.
Adam and Davey both chuckled nervously before uttering “Yes sirs” and scrambling out the door into the bright light of the village square. After several rapid blinks, Adam’s eyes adjusted to the severe and sudden change of light. “Do you know if Kali’s made her way out of her mother’s clutches yet?” he questioned, his eyes falling upon his shorter companion. “What exactly happened this time?”
“Most likely. You know Kali, she’s probably heading our way as we speak,” He let loose a chuckle, “I fear Priestess Rissa’s tried to put her in a dress again.”
Adam chuckled at that as well, “I’ve yet to see Kali in a dress and I think I’ll die the day I do.”
“It will certainly be a surprise,” Davey chuckled along with his friend. A comfortable silence fell over the two boys as they made their way into the town.
“Do you think we can wrestle Hunter away from his father for a few hours?”
“We could try,” Davey answered with a shrug, “Maybe we can catch up with Jade as well, help him track down that infernal pain in the side he calls a brother.”
“Lord help Smith when Jade finds him,” Adam added, shaking his head, “He’s probably furious.”
“He certainly seemed that way when earlier. I don’t even think he waved us goodbye.”
“Aye, we’ll find them soon enough,” Adam added as the two boys continued down the dirt and cobblestoned path leading through the heart of their village, both their minds set on the adventures this day would bring.
“Damn, her,” a very agitated young girl swore as she looked at her neatly braided and arranged mass of black hair in the dingy mirror that had been set up in her room. She screwed up her pretty face, violet eyes snapping at the image created with the hairstyle. “Damn her!” Her fists, though small, clenched and unclenched menacingly as she looked from her laughable hair in the mirror, to the corner of the room where very recently a freshly stitched lavender dress had been hung over the back of a chair. Kalika Sirenidae, more commonly called Kali, was not a happy girl that day.
She looked out her window, past the sycamore that had grown close to the cottage, over the town square, and to the peacefully lapping waves of the sea. With a pout, she remembered where she was supposed to be at the moment, sailing close along the shore in her friend’s boat. Supposed to be at least, but Kali’s plans had altered after a fight with her mother in regards to her hoydenish nature. Priestess Rissa had informed her only child that she was to start acting like a proper young woman, and stop running amuck with the group of boys she had known all her life as well as desist with her combat studies down at the soldier’s fort. Kali cared nothing for her mother’s commands and told her so quite emphatically, which, seeing as she had been locked in her bedroom until she agreed to wear the dress, had not been received by the Priestess so warmly.
Kali growled deep in her throat at the lilac monstrosity in the corner of her room, as if it silently mocked her, advocating itself as the source of her plight. The violet eyed girl agreed with it, and, deciding to pay both it and her mother back, ran to pull on her breeches and boots. She knew as soon as she started to pull her clothes on that this probably was not one of her better, more prudent ideas. She would get caught, she always did, but she would do it nonetheless, and probably would many times in the future. Kali wasn’t always careful, no, but she had enough guts to make up for it at times.
Kali had just finished lacing her boots and was about to climb out her window into the sycamore, when a silvery flash on her bedside table caught her eye. The girl almost kicked herself for forgetting the object, a long dagger in a plain sheath, oddly enough given to her by her mother. It was Kali’s most treasured possession and she’d been taught to use it, though the opportunity to do so had yet to arise. Whether or not she ever wanted to have that opportunity, she didn’t know, but she buckled it to her waist nonetheless before climbing out onto her widow ledge and leaping out, grabbing hold of the nearest branch.
This was a practice the Priestess’ daughter was more than accustomed to, and next to her friend, Jade, who was occasionally called Squirrel for his tree climbing savvy, she was the best. In a matter of seconds, Kali had scuttled from limb to limb, until she was within range of the ground. With one last heave of her body, she dropped down to the earth, landing like a cat on her heels and palms. Well, almost, Kali hadn’t been paying attention to where her hands went and felt the skin on the heel of her right palm split as a rather sharp rock she hadn’t noticed buried itself into the flesh there.
Giving a slight hiss, she jumped up, picking the rocks and gravel away from the wound to look it over. It was a nice gash, deep and trickling with crimson to stain down her wrist and shirt sleeve. If she had been a normal twelve year old girl she would have been crying and running to her mother to fix it. Kali, however, was not a very normal girl, proven by her more than strange eyes, hair, and now, by the fact that the skin on her hand was starting to pull itself together.
Kali was not sure how she could do this, how her body would do this to itself, mend on its own so fast, but it very well did. Once when she was five, she had spilled hot oil from the temple alter all over herself, almost everyone was sure she was going to be blind, if not scarred for life, but that hadn’t happened at all. The skin had bubbled and cracked and within an hour’s time, the bloody, raised, flesh had been replaced by scar tissue, by the following morning, the skin was as smooth as nothing had ever happened. It might have very well been dismissed as a dream, if she had not seen her body repair itself on later dates. She had asked her mother about this thing, about many things, thinking perhaps it had to do with her father, no one save for Priestess Rissa knew who he was, but her mother was tight–lipped about it. Kali knew no more about why her eyes were violet, or why purple tendrils grew amidst the black in her hair, or why her body could do what it did, than any one else. Her mother always said it would be something she would hear when she was older. The Priestess had been saying that since Kali was two, and the girl, needless to say, had grown tired of the runabout. Long ago Kali had accepted she was less than normal, her friends accepted it, and so she stopped thinking about it. Or at least she stopped admitting to do so.
When the skin on her hand had scabbed together nicely Kali dusted herself off, and looked about. No one of importance who might alert her mother to her departure seemed to be standing about, so she took off from beneath the sycamore tree at a sprint, a destination already in mind. Adam would be free, he was always free, and when she had gotten hold of him perhaps they could convince Davey to put his book down for awhile. After they got Davey then they could run by Hunter’s and help him finish his many chores, and after that track down Jade, who could be across the countryside, looking for Smith, and help him out. After that Kali estimated they should have close to until sunset to do as they pleased.
Slinking down the streets she, tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, though with her hair and the fact that it was her she was probably a bit down on her luck already. But save for the fact that she thought she saw Marcielle Marchand looking at her as she jogged down the street, away from the temple and it’s adjacent cottage that she shared with her mother, Kali remained virtually unnoticed as any other day. She was quite proud of that fact, and her head became a little bit stuck in the clouds as she ran along, remaining there, unnoticing of the world around her, until she literally turned about a corner and ran into her destination.
Adam gave a deep “oomph!” as Kali’s lithe frame hit his lanky one, stumbling back a few paces at the collision while Kali herself nearly bounced back on her rear. Nearly, she was saved from that humiliation (and soreness) by the quick thinking of the other half of her goal. Quicker than a blink Davey had skittered past the stumbling Adam to grab hold of her wrist, and giving a tug that was surprisingly strong for a boy of his size, pulled her upright. Kali stumbled a bit from the force of that, but was caught again, as Adam reached out to lay a hand on both her and Davey’s shoulders, steadying her and keeping her from knocking into the black haired boy.
The three looked at one another for a few moments as they regained both composure and balance before cracking smiles and beginning to laugh, Adam half keeling over as he held his belly.
“You’re a real wreck, Kal, you know that right?” the tallest of the boys laughed, looking up with mirthful tears in his eyes at his sole female companion.
“You mean she causes them,” Davey chuckled, breathlessly happy himself.
“Oh hush, the both of you!” Kali tried to sound stern, but felt the futility of the attempt due to the smile playing across her lips.
“My gods!” Adam suddenly gasped, making both his friends, jump, the smiles disappearing from their faces.
“What?” Davey and Kali chorused together, slight alarm ringing in their eyes.
“Kal—what in the name of the gods–your hair!” Adam exclaimed, right before holding his stomach as he began to laugh again, Davey took a quick look at Kali before joining him.
Kali’s purple eyes lit up with a spark of that hellfire she’d shown to her mother just that morning, remembering she hadn’t bothered to take her hair out of it’s elaborate plate before sneaking out, and scowled at her friends, Adam in particular. While Davey at least tried to stop, Adam only began to giggle more, breaking the last straw upon the girl’s back. With a rather loud roar, she leapt upon Adam, taking them both to the ground as she began to pummel him. Davey moved out of the way of the ball his two friends became as they tumbled, laughing as they started throwing punches at one another.
“To hell with you, Carson!” she shrieked as she hit. “I didn’t do this to myself you know!”
“Nope, your mummy did!” he cackled, blocking some hits while returning others.
“Bastard!” she growled.
“You would know!” he taunted back.
“Okay enough, you two!” Davey said, reaching down to grab their hands, fingers balled into fists ready to smash into one another. Davey’s touch calmed them both immediately, and they relaxed, Adam allowing his hands to fall to his sides, while Kali jerked hers away. There was tense silence for few seconds as Adam lay on the ground, Kali straddling his waist, glaring down at his chest, Davey watching them both with his arms crossed. Finally Adam gave a sigh and sat up, and in one quick motion passed his hand through Kali’s disheveled hair, his hand returning with the tie that held it up on the end. Laying the tie down he ran the hand back through her violet and jet mange, tousling so that it was wild about her face.
“There,” he said with a half smile, leaning up further to replace the tie in a haphazard fashion, and very Kali way, about her locks. He pulled a few stray tresses down into her eyes, obscuring her piercing violet gaze just a bit. “Much better. Girl hair doesn’t suit you, Kal.”
Kali grinned. “Yeah I know,” she giggled before jumping up. She held out her hands to him, and Adam accepted them, allowing the girl to pull him onto his feet.
Davey smiled, knowing things were, as always, very fine between Kali and Adam, as they turned grins upon him. “Come on,” he said beckoning with his left hand. “We’ve still got Hunter and Jade to collect yet, don’t we?”
“Ugh–huh!” both his friends laughed in unison before all three began a run up the cobblestone street, back the way Kali had come along. The sole girl among the friends smiled as she sprinted between Adam and Davey, she was not going to become a proper young lady today.
The wooden box dug heavily into his tiny shoulder, a grimace of pain flashing through his blue eyes. He was not a slight boy by any means, but at twelve years old, Hunter Burgan was stronger than some of the boys twice his age. This, he did not doubt, came from the hours he spent working along side his father, Samien, in the small carpentry shop he owned on the outskirts of the village.
Work was demanding and often times straining for the young boy, but Hunter knew that by doing this, he was helping to put food on his family’s table. And with the way times were, his family needed all the help they could possibly get.
Hard times had fallen on the Burgan household after Hunter’s mother, Kira, had fallen ill shortly after her son’s first year of life. At the time, none were sure the young wife and mother would survive, but Samien had never given up hope on the woman he loved. He poured nearly all of their savings into finding a cure, a treatment, anything for his wife.
Countless doctors and months later, his prayers were finally answered. Though the illness had left Kira unable to bear more children or even carry on the working life she had once lead, she was alive. But things, life, had forever been altered for the young family. Money was scarce and with the care Kira still required, they barely earned enough to keep food on the table. This burden fell heavily on both Samien and young Hunter’s shoulders.
From the time Hunter was able to walk on his own, he worked to help his father in the shop. Little things at first, greeting customers, holding tools. But as he grew, so did his tasks. Now he worked along side his father on many of his jobs. In what little spare time he could find, Hunter was off sparring and playing with his friends.
The five of them had done so for as long as the young boy could remember. And it was with them that Hunter felt most at ease. He could escape the frustration and tension that settled around the Burgan household like a dense fog. Though he never fully understood it, it was something Hunter could not deny. He could see it in his father’s eyes, feel it in his mother’s silence, in the way they spoke to one another.
With a grimace, he placed the box heavily down on the workbench next to his father. The man sat, his entire attention focused on the small chest before him. It was a wedding gift for the daughter of one of the villages prominent families. The detail requested of the piece had kept Samien locked in his shop for the past several days, only emerging when his body could no longer stand the lack of food or sleep. But the pay was quite well, and for the Samien would suffer through the frustration. That pay was so desperately needed.
“I’ve finished the box,” Hunter whispered softly, knowing that by speaking now he risked breaking his father’s concentration and invoking the short temper he had so acutely developed.
“Leave it be, son,” his father only mumbled in reply. The last thing he wanted to do was drag his only child into this mess. Into something he had little control over.
Hunter merely nodded, turning from the workbench and heading back to the far corner of the shop to return to the few other pieces his father had asked for his help in finishing. As he passed by the window, he watched the sun beam down on the people passing by, wishing, not for the first time, that he could be outside with them, enjoying the day. But he knew that was impossible and though he hated that fact, he understood.
Settling himself at his own small desk, Hunter turned his attention to the shelf sitting before him. He allowed himself to become engrossed with his work, barely pausing when he heard the door from to the shop open softly.
“Samien,” the soft voice of his mother filled the quiet shop. His father merely grunted in return, his attention focused solely on the task before him. But Hunter could sense a change in the room. The all to familiar tension that seemed to radiate around them. “Samien,” she called again.
He turned to face the doorway, eyes falling on his wife’s frail form, questioning why she had come in the first place. She hated that stare. Hunter forced himself to focus more intently on the piece before him, trying with all his might to block out the world around him. Block out the tension surrounding him.
“You’ve been in this room all day....I thought you might want to come back to the house for something to eat. To get a bit of fresh air,” she posed softly. “You’re always cooped up in here.”
“I’m here because I’ve got no other choice, Kira. We need to eat and we can’t very well do that without money.” His voice was soft and even, but there was little mistaking the frustration in it.
Kira physically shrunk backwards at his verbal assault, knowing what role she and her illness played in it. “I was merely suggesting. Plus it would give the boy a chance to run around for a bit. He needs to be a child. He only has so many years of childhood left, you can’t keep him cooped up in here forever.”
Hunter froze at her words, his mind wandering back several hours. Kali, Adam, and Davey had all come by, smiling and ready to bring him along as they took Adam’s father’s small boat out onto the harbor for a few hours, only to be turned away. Samien had done so with a heavy heart, hating the disappointment he saw flashing in his son’s eyes.
“Do you not think I know that, Kira?” Samien’s voice rose with each word that feel from his lips. “Don’t you think I would rather see my son, my only child, outside enjoying life? Enjoying everything while he still has that chance? Do you think I want this for him, Kira? If I had a choice in the matter he wouldn’t be in here! But I don’t have that say. I lost it a long while ago. This is the only choice I have! The only one we have, so do not speak of matters you know so little about!”
“Don’t,” she shot back, her voice raising as well. “This is not solely my fault. I didn’t ask for this to happen, Samien. I didn’t chose it!”
The silence that filled the small shop was deafening. Hunter wanted nothing more than to run, to get as far away from this, from them, as he possibly could. But his limbs, it seemed, were made of lead and refused his mind’s every command. Stop, he pleaded silently. Please stop.
He hated this. Hated how even the smallest of things brought forth such bitterness in the two people he cared for most. He could see the hurt and guilt in his mother’s eyes, the frustration and pain in his father’s face. The way they stared each other down, each waiting for the other to say something more. To challenge the other.
Slowly, he found himself able to stand, though he had no idea where he would go. The only exit to the shop was where Kira currently stood and the last thing Hunter wanted was to place himself in the middle of their argument. As he pushed himself away from his desk, his foot caught on the scraps of wood he’d left carelessly laying about the floor. A sharp howl of pain feel from his lips, causing both Samien and Kira to break from their stare and turn to face him.
“Hunter,” Samien began slowly, seeing the discomfort in his son’s eyes, “Why don’t you go see if you can find Adam, Kali and Davey?” The boy didn’t need to see any more of this. It wasn’t fair to him.
“But what about...” Hunter started, grateful for a chance to leave what he knew would only be another fight. But he still could not help feeling guilty. There was still a great deal of work left and he knew his father could not handle it all on his own.
“It can wait.” Samien’s voice was firm, leaving the boy little room to argue. Silently, Hunter nodded before making his way towards the door and past his stunned mother. As he jogged down the cobblestone street, he could hear the voices of his parents raising once again.
Pushing their voices from his mind, the boy made his way through the now crowding streets in the direction of Adam’s home. It was the most logical of places to start, even his emotionally cluttered mind could make sense of that. Hunter paid little attention to the commotion around him, his eyes focused blankly on the street before him. He refused to let himself think anything beyond finding his friends and putting this morning behind him.
Unshed tears burned in his blue eyes, blurring his vision. But he refused to allow them to fall. No, this didn’t matter. This was life. He could deal with this. He could handle it, he had to. They needed him to be strong. His family needed him. As his thoughts sped, so did his pace, until he was practically sprinting down the street. He didn’t slow until a warm, solid wall halted his progress.
Stumbling backwards, Hunter found himself thrust back into reality, his eyes falling upon the familiar, concerned face of one of his closest friends. “Davey.”
Davey outstretched his hand, offering his friend a soft smile. “Are you alright?”
With a silent nod, Hunter returned his friend’s smile, though both boys knew it didn’t truly reach his eyes. Gathering himself, Hunter turned to face the other two companions standing behind Davey. Both looked uncertainly at Hunter, seeing the redness in his eyes, before exchanging knowing looks. They were looks Hunter had known all too well and he waited for the line of questioning he was certain would follow. But neither said a word, merely offering their friend knowing smiles. A conscious effort to lessen the slowly building tension.
“I see your mother let you out, Kali.” Hunter stated, breaking the silence. Noting the shift in Kali’s gaze, before smirking, “Or did you pull a Jade and put that sycamore tree beneath your window to good use?”
Chuckling, Kali nodded her head. “I’ll die before I’ll let her put me in a dress.” A roar of laughter fell from all of their lips at that. “What? You think I’m kidding?”
“Oh no, Kal. I think the world will come to a fiery end if you were ever to spend more than a few moments in anything other than your tunic and breeches,” Davey voiced, his eyes dancing with mirth.
“That’ll be enough out of you, bookworm.” The four dissolved into a fit of giggles, Davey shooting Kali a knowing glare. “Speaking of fiery ends, why don’t we go see if Jade has gotten his hands on Smith yet? Because lord knows that poor boy is treading on thin ice as it is.”
“Let’s hope we haven’t missed the show yet,” Adam chimed in with a hearty laugh. The four nodded, making their way towards the woods in the distance, each looking forward to the excitement this day would bring.
Jade Puget was normally a very patient boy. On an average day, he did not rush through tasks, he was calm and collected, quite the levelheaded child. Today was not one of those average days though. Today, he was, more or less, pissed off.
The day was bad from the very start, when he had was woken an hour and a half early before his usual time, a little after dawn, by the cries of his month old little sister, Wynne. He’d struggled to try and return to sleep, but it was a useless fight, as his younger brother Smith, whom he shared a bed with, was snoring forcefully. Usually it didn’t bother him, but today the nose simply got under his skin like no other time, so he’d started the day off a bit grumpily. Further aggravation had been piled on as he was kicked in the side by a cow he was trying to milk that morning. Not badly, but enough so that his father, Bryant, had ordered him off chores that morning and his two older, Cullen and Corbin, had found reason to tease him.
Sent off to the house to help his mother with chores there (the twins had very cleverly said he was becoming a woman for the day), he’d spent the morning half being fussed over by his mother, Livia, and elder sister, Myra, and being humiliated by assisting with the cooking. It had only gotten worse when his friends Adam, Davey, and Kali, had come by, to ask him to go sailing, and had seen him churning butter. Nothing was said but he was shamed nonetheless. The worst of it was he might have been allowed to go, in fact his father had seen his friends, knew he wanted to go with them, and had given his permission. And then out came his mother, shouting for Smith, and upon not finding them, had more or less, politely, ordered Jade to find his little brother, seeing as he had nothing else to do.
So here he was, combing the fields near his family’s farm, his ribs still aching from that kick, looking for his miserable puke of a bratty little brother. No, for Jade today was neither average or good, and he was in a rotten mood for it. Rotten enough that he might just beat the snot out of Smith upon finding him.
Jade heaved a sigh, pressing a hand to his still faintly throbbing chest. “Gods damn you, Brownie,” he cursed the cow that had given him this nice gift. The thirteen year old looked about. He was on the outskirts of his father’s lands, another hundred yards and he would simply be in unclaimed fields, but he recognized the place, he was twenty feet from a pond that he and his friends sometimes swam and fished in. By that pond was a rather large rock, and deciding from the pain in his chest, he was deserving of at least a few moments’ repose, trotted his way there to recline against the sun heated stone surface.
Another heavy sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes, allowing the light of the sun to warm him. It was early spring in this part of the country, bright with sunshine, though still chilly at times. It was perfect weather to be sailing down the shore, but no, of course he couldn’t have that. The gods had decided today would just be misery for him and nothing more. He groaned, spreading his lanky frame across the rock’s face. He was really going to kick Smith’s behind for this.
“Oh look a rock on a rock, fellas–and fellaette!” a familiar voice taunted from a not too far off. Jade sat up at once as he recognized the voice and the echoes of laughter that followed it, trills of excitement and happiness flooding him as he did, though those trills were a bit dimmed as the pain in his chest flickered and he nearly fell back against the stone, clutching the mark that be–damned milk cow had laid upon his chest.
“Oye, Jade!” a second and equally familiar voice exclaimed, this time slightly worried. Jade looked up to see four figures, through his fringe of auburn hair, running toward him. A blonde head at the front of the pack.
“Jade, you alright?” Hunter asked, as he came up toward his friend, laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he grunted sliding off the rock, though his hand still held his ribs. He did his best to look pleasant. “Never get kicked by a cow, if you can at all help it,” he advised them all with wry smile. “It’s not pleasant.”
“Does it hurt much?” Davey asked, not in a mothering way, just concerned.
“It’ll be fine,” Jade said, grunting as he rubbed the spot. “Or it least it will after I find that foul brother beast of mine and drag him home. I swear, he only ran away to vex me, I just know it!”
“Yeah, well, he’s your little brother, that’s his job,” Kali laughed.
“Yes, and you would know,” Jade retorted a bit scathingly. “You’ve got what? A hundred younger siblings?”
“No, just you all,” she retorted.
“Firstly, that retort was immature,” Jade said, crossing his arms as he gave her a withering look. “Secondly, next to Duck–fluff,” he nodded to Hunter, who’d earned his nickname from his tufty white hair, “you’re the youngest here. It’s illogical.”
Kali only rolled her eyes. “You, Davey, and your logic,” she said, hands on her scrawny hips. “I swear you should marry it, you’re so hung up on it.”
“Jealous?” both the redhead and raven-haired boy said together, a line perfectly rehearsed through the lifetime they had been friends.
Kali, Hunter, and Adam exchanged eye rolls, jealousy was hardly the word to describe the feeling for their friends over this particular subject.
“Okay, okay, come on!” Hunter said, jumping and gesticulating a bit as he spoke. “The sooner we find Smith, the sooner we can do something interesting with ourselves! Let’s move!” And he started running off past the pond, towards the woods, a place Smith would most definitely enjoy hiding in. His friends watched him bound away and laughed before following his example. Every day with one another always proved to be an adventure, today would be no exception to the rule.
The quintet ran through the forest, as they had done many, many times, in their years together, nimbly avoiding branches and roots. Well for the most part, Davey wasn’t as adept at it as his friends were, and Hunter’s was known to fall on his face more than a few times, but it was nothing that either boy did not immediately recover from. Dirt on their faces they were back up, gaining on the others, laughing just as their friends were. Jade and Kali climbed and swung part of the way, playing a brief game of acrobats as they found familiar handling upon the branches of a springy juniper they’d played upon many times before.
“Hey, Jade!” Kali called from her place high in one of the trees. Her four companions looked up, seeing the violet eyed child scanning a bit ahead of them. “I see him! He’s in the clearing up ahead running around after some rabbits!”
“That little brat!” Jade exclaimed as his friends tittered. “Damn him! He did this last week! Ooh after Papa gets done with him I’m taking a turn! Senseless–ooh!” The last was a guttural rumble, barely a cognitive arrangement of syllables, but his friends paid him no mind. They simply hid their smiles from his ire, knowing it would pass. Jade often became irritated with his little brother, and most of the time Smith deserved it, nothing new for them to witness. Jade would yell, cuff his younger brother, Smith would cry, recover, and go back to rile him as he had everyday since near birth, it was a cycle for the two brothers, stability, a way. They all knew, this, and followed him to watch the scolding about to take place, Kali, dropping to the ground to trot shoulder to shoulder with Adam.
“Smith!” Jade hollered at the top of his lungs as they cleared past the last of the trees. “Smith Puget of Mendel Cove, you get your scrawny—”
Smith looked up, but not at the sound of Jade’s voice and not in his direction, and they all knew why. The voice of the elder of the brother’s had been drowned out by a strange rumbling sound. The five older children followed Smith’s gaze, to the opposite site of the clearing, as the ground began to shake beneath them. In a matter of seconds the branches and saplings were pushed out of the way as a fleet of armored horsemen galloped through.
They all saw it in slow motion before it happened, the look on Smith’s face, his small body freeze, the dirt flying from the wickedly giant hooves of the beasts. Time stopped, life stopped, for a few precious brief seconds as Jade realized what was going on, where those animals and their riders were headed with out any regard whatsoever for his baby brother. The moment was frozen, the absolute look of shock on Smith’s face, the squirming little brown rabbit he’d finally managed to catch after so many attempts, clutched in his small hands, the beating of his heart. Most of all Jade remembered all the terrible things that he’d been thinking right before this moment.
The broken scream of, “Smith!” tore raggedly from Jade’s throat right before the first of the riders trampled right over his little brother’s now tiny looking frame, rabbit still in his hands.
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ginshi-san · 10 years
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My first writing home on the internet passed away today. AFIslash.com, you will be greatly missed. Today marked the end of an era. I'll miss it even though in the past few years I wasn't all that active. The people on there were great writers and in turn nurtured even more talented authors. I learned far more from them than I did sitting in a classroom. Thank you to everyone that made our little corner of the internet an amazing and warm place.
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coldeternalarchive · 10 years
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Inconceivable
Title:   Inconceivable Author:  MorganOfChaos Genre:  AFI-Javey Rating: NC 17 Chapter 4/45
Jade glanced at Davey sleeping on his couch curled up into a fetal position. Jade walked into his bedroom and pulled off the comfiture and placed it on Davey gently but tucking it in around the small frame.
  “Jade?”
  “Oh shit, did I wake you? I’m sorry,” Jade apologized pulling away.
  “S’all right. I have a lot of trouble sleeping. I heard you leave the room,” Davey confessed.
  “Oh.”
  “Yeah, insomnia.”
  “I’m a pretty light sleeper myself. I’ve had it all my life but I think I’m getting insomnia from stress.”
  “Stress from what?”
  “My paintings are going into the museum, it’s not the first time but it’s the first time in such a big museum and I get nervous at every one but this time it’s ten times bigger.”
  “That’s cool, you paint?”
  “Yeah.”
  “I write poetry.”
  “Really?” Jade asked, astonishment in his tone.
  “Don’t sound so surprised. I was an English major in high school and I would have gone to college for it but I didn’t have the money.”
  “Is that why you do what you do?”
  “Whoring myself? No, that wasn’t my decision. Mark pulled me into it…he’s my lover…well more like my boss.”
  “The drunk guy?”
  “Yeah, that’s him.”
  Jade was disgusted, that man was a horrible piece of filth and he’d obviously made Davey into one.
  “Shit head,” Jade cursed to the non-present man.
  “You bet.”
  “Why don’t you leave?”
  “No place to go,” Davey said meekly.
  “You can stay here,” Jade offered.
  No he can’t!
  “That’s sweet of you but I don’t think it’d be-”
  “Please? I don’t want you out on that street corner.”
  “You want me all to yourself?” Davey joked but it sounded a bit harsh, and a bit wary.
  “No. Not like that. Not again. I’m not usually the one-night-stand type of guy…I never believed in it.”
  “Your buddy said-”
  “He said he had a great stress reliever and I was so…fucked up from the deadline of the painting submission that I was desperate. I had no idea he meant a person. But you came in and you were so…” Jade cleared his throat remembering that night clearly. “And I was just swept away.”
  Davey looked at Jade with those hazel eyes and Jade was forced to look away.
  “Anyway, do you want anything to eat? Or drink?”
  “No thanks.”
  “Oh…uh okay.”
  He felt nervousness creep up inside of him; he didn’t know how to act around the man lying on the couch before him. Davey sat up and stretched.
  “We’re going to have to get you some more clothes.”
  Davey looked down at his clothes. And smiled.
  “I have some at Mark’s apartment, we can get them later tonight.”
  “I don’t know if that’s wise,” Jade said cautiously.
  “He’ll be gone around eight.”
  “How long does he stay out until?”
  “I don’t know, a couple of hours. I don’t have much there. I think a few sets of clothes and a couple of personal things, nothing I can’t just pick up and carry out. I have a duffel bag there someplace, we’re always moving around,” he explained.
  Jade nodded and they sat in silence for a few minutes.
  “I like that shirt.”
  Jade looked down at his faded Cure shirt.
  “You like The Cure?”
  “Love ‘em.”
  Jade leaned over and pulled a small remote control from a coffee table and clicked the ‘on’ button to the CD player and chose a track.
  “The Hanging Garden?” Davey asked.
  “Yup.”
  Davey sung along quietly tapping his fingers on the couch.
  “Creatures kissing in the rain, shapeless in the dark again. In the hanging garden, please don't speak. In the hanging garden, no one sleeps…” Davey trailed off as he met Jade’s eyes and blushed.
  “You have a great voice Dave,” he said.
  “Thanks...” Davey replied shyly.
  Another silence.
  “...Dave...It’s been a while since anyone but Hunter has called me that.”
  “Sor-”
  “I like it.”
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totalimmortals · 11 years
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So very happy that the afislash website is back. My nights will not be constantly boring now.
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sparkinsidewrites · 4 years
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Shards of Us - Chapter Eight
Title: Shards of Us
Chapter: 8/9
Character/Pairing: Davey Havok/Adam Carson
Genre: Angst
Rating: Explicit
Summary:  Creating a balance between what was and what is strains the ever twisted relationship between Adam, Aubrey, and Davey. Sequel to The Devil Inside. Written with Havoksangel.
Authors Notes/Warnings:  Nothing in this piece ever happened. I claim no ownership nor do I make any sort of profit from this, other than pride and a sense of amusement.
EIGHT
Aubrey had never felt so exhausted in her life, nor more fulfilled. A soft smile played on her lips as she found herself staring down at her tiny daughter sleeping peacefully in her arms. She was amazed at just how much this little girl resembled her father. It was both a blessing and a curse. Sighing, Aubrey closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the pillows behind her. It was a little after four in the afternoon and she felt like it was far later.
Davey came up to the door, knocking softly. He knew Adam had stepped out for a bit to take care of things at Aubrey's, making sure that everything was just right for the baby when she got home. He figured this was the best place and time to discuss where he and Aubrey stood. He knew he couldn’t leave things hanging so uncertainly. Not if this was going to work. He refused to tear this family apart anymore than he had.
Her head raised at the sudden sound, eyes locking on the figure standing in the doorway. A plethora of emotions flitted through her as she stared. "Davey," she started, neutrally, unsure of her own feelings at the moment. The little girl in her arms stirred but did not wake.
"Can I come in?" He whispered so he wouldn’t wake the baby. "I thought we should talk."
Aubrey nodded silently. She was still uneasy around him. Still unsure. But he had been there for her. Helped her. She didn't know what to make of him.
Quietly he walked in and took a seat next to the bed. He peered over at the baby and smiled. "She's beautiful."
"She looks like Adam."
Davey nodded in agreement. "Have you two named her yet?"
Aubrey shook her head, "No. Adam and I haven't really...settled on anything yet. " They would need to soon, though, she noted. This little one could spend the rest of her life as baby girl Carson.
"Aubrey... I can’t not be in her life," he said, his voice soft and almost pleading. "I watched her come into this world. I can’t not see her."
Davey's sudden change in demeanor and attitude startled her for a moment. He wanted to be a part of her daughter's life. She could understand that. But she still felt uneasy about the situation. It was selfish, she knew it, but she couldn't help fear he would replace her in that aspect as well. And that was something she knew she would not be able to handle.
He locked eyes with her. "I know she is your daughter and I know she is Adam's, and I promise not to step over any lines," he began slowly, cautiously, "but please let her be a part of my life. She is a part of Adam and..." he trailed off, tears welling up. "Don’t punish him for what I caused him to do."
Aubrey swallowed thickly, closing her eyes "I'm not trying to punish anyone...I just...This is hard for me. I trusted him...I trusted you and I'm scared to do that again. It's not just my life anymore, it's hers."
Davey nodded. "I know I betrayed you and I know he did, but I have changed. I have. Being with Adam, loving him, has made me a better person. I swear I will never hurt her. Or you."
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I just...You are asking for something I don't know if I'm fully ready to offer. I know you aren't a horrible person, but I don't know if I trust you enough to be alone with my daughter." Or if I can ever fully trust either of you again.
"You don’t have to trust me alone with her, but let her come to the house with Adam," Davey pleaded.
"Davey..." Aubrey started. It was too soon for her to even consider letting her daughter out of her sight, much less let her spend the night away from her. This was all new for her. She couldn’t contemplate anything beyond this hospital room. Not now.
He looked down. He'd hoped this would help, but he was getting nowhere. She didn’t trust him, maybe she never would. It hurt that she would do this, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t blame her for it. Not really. He took a deep breath and looked up. "This was a mistake. I'm sorry."
"Stop," she started softly, unsure of herself, but knowing she couldn’t let things carry on this way, "Baby steps. I need to take all of this in baby steps."
Davey nodded and clasped his hands in his lap. He really shouldn’t have come in here. He was a fool to think that she would change her mind, no matter how much he'd helped her. He wiped away tear a before it had the chance to fall, keeping his eyes down.
"I don't want her alone with anyone right now. She's still brand new, this is all new for me. I just..I need some time to adjust to being a mother. Maybe when she's few months old she can stay with Adam for a bit...But it's just...It's too soon."
Davey again nodded. "I just don’t want him to miss out on her life because of me," he whispered. Slowly, he stood, heading for the door.
"I don't want him to miss it either." Sighing softly, she added, "Thank you. For everything."
He smiled and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "You're welcome."
Closing her eyes for a moment, Aubrey fought against the small voice in her mind and asked, "Would…would you like to hold her?" As difficult as it was to ask, Aubrey knew it was the least she could do. He could have just left her to get to the hospital herself. To give birth herself. But he hadn't. She still didn't understand why.
He looked at her, mouth parted in shock. Yes, he wanted to hold her. "Are you sure?"
Aubrey nodded. Baby steps, she told herself. She smiled softly at him, waiting for him to take a seat in one of the nearby chairs, before gently placing her slumbering daughter in his arms.
Davey pulled the chair closer and held his arms out for her. He couldn’t believe that Aubrey was actually going to let him hold the baby. He figured he wouldn’t get within ten feet of her.
This was incredibly difficult for Aubrey. It nearly took everything she had to not simply grab the child back. But she did not. Doing so wouldn't solve anything, nor would it be safe for her child. "Support her head and don't rock her too much. She doesn't like that."
Davey nodded, cradling her against his body. He smiled down at her face, her sweet little face, and traced her cheek with his finger tip. "Hi, Sweetheart," he whispered
The baby stirred, slowly blinking her blue eyes. She wiggled a little before her eyes drooped closed once more.
"She's so precious, Aubrey."
"I know she is," Aubrey whispered, smiling softly.
Davey lightly touched her little hand only to have her grab it and give it a tiny squeeze. From that touch, he felt tears welling in his eyes. He was holding a miracle in his arms.
Aubrey laughed slightly at the sight. "She's got quite a grip, doesn't she?"
All he could do was nod. He couldn’t even look up because he wasn’t able to take his eyes off of the baby.
Davey had fallen head over heels in love with the little girl in his arms, that Aubrey could tell easily. And she couldn't blame him, for her little one had stolen her heart as well. Absently she wondered just what she would do once she and her baby had made it back home.
True, her mother had offered to take her in, to help raise the child. Aubrey had refused before, stating that she would have Adam's help raising her daughter though it had only earned her a lecture on morals and what it meant to be a fit parent.
It was the only thing they could never see eye to eye on. Even after all Adam had done, he would be a wonderful father and Aubrey knew that. But at the same time she knew Adam would not be able to be there whenever she needed him. He'd try his best, that she knew, but he had a new life now. New responsibilities. Maybe she should have taken her mother's offer. She just didn't know.
"What do you need for her?" Davey asked.
Confusion spread across Aubrey's face, "What?"
"Is there anything you need for her that you don’t have?"
"Some extra help here and there. I'm going to need to put in a lot more hours at work to make sure she gets everything she needs. More hours in a day?" she joked with a sigh, though wishing there was some way there could be.
Davey looked at her. "You don’t have to hire a sitter. Whenever you feel you trust me, I'll change my shifts at the cafe. I'll work nights and watch her if you need." He knew he sounded hopeful, maybe overly so, but he wanted this. Wanted to be a part of this if she would let him.
Aubrey smiled lightly, "Maybe." She was far from ready for that. But maybe...maybe a bit later down the road. It would be nice not having to worry about finding the money to pay for a sitter. Struggle through finding one that she felt safe leaving her child with. Someone Adam felt safe leaving their child with.
Davey looked up as the door opened, seeing Adam poke his head in. He was sure the man was going to die to see him holding his daughter.
To say he was caught off guard by the sight before him would have been a gross understatement. Davey was holding his daughter. Aubrey was letting him hold their daughter. The very idea of it melted his heart. He could still sense the tension between them, something he knew would always linger, but this was a sight he never expected to see. Maybe things would work themselves out after all. "Hey," he called softly, terrified of disturbing them.
Aubrey smiled at him. "Hey." After a short pause, she added, "She seems to like Davey." She was trying her best to make this work. This little girl didn’t need the stress of angry adults. She needed a happy life and in order for Aubrey to give her that, she was going to have to bend a little. No matter how uncertain she was.
Adam merely nodded, unsure what to say. This was honestly the last thing he had expected. "She does," he murmured, taking a few cautious steps towards the hospital bed. Gently, he rested his hand on Davey's shoulder, conscious of his actions, still unsure how long this peace would last.
Davey looked up at Adam, smiling. "She's gonna look like you, she has your eyes. And Aubrey's hair."
Smiling, Adam gently rubbed Davey's shoulder before reaching down to stroke his daughter's head. His little girl. He was a father. It was something he still was trying to wrap his head around. Her tiny eyes slowly blinked open and a smile spread across her face. She smiled at him and his heart completely melted.
Aubrey watched the two for a moment and couldn’t help but feel sadness that this wasn’t something she was going to be able to share with Adam the way she'd always thought she would. Davey was going to have that, but she couldn’t deny her little girl her father because of circumstances that were not her fault. That she could not control.
"Hey there, little one," Adam whispered, stroking his daughter's cheek. She was perfect. The one thing he had done right.
Slowly he raised his eyes, allowing them to fall on Aubrey's face. The sadness in her eyes shook him. It was something he knew he would never forgive himself for. But she was granting him this, the chance to be a father. To be involved in his daughter's life. Something he knew had to be one of the hardest things she had ever done.
Davey stood up and handed her back to Aubrey. He didn’t want to see clingy, though he loved that little girl already. "I think Mommy and Daddy need alone time. You need a name, Princess."
Aubrey smiled softly at Davey as she took her daughter back into her arms. She was so small. "Thank you," she murmured.
Davey smiled at her and winked before leaving. He knew the three of them needed time as a family.
Adam watched as his lover headed slightly towards the door before turning his attention back to Aubrey and the little girl she held in her arms. "He's right, you need a name, little one." He locked eyes with Aubrey.
Aubrey smiled. "I was thinking after our mothers."
"Natalie I think is lovely, but I would never condemn a child to the name Harriet," he joked, knowing his mother's name was something he refused to name his child. "Rose," he added after a few moments of silence. After his Grandmother. "Natalie Rose."
She grinned and kissed her head. "I think it fits. Natalie Rose."
Adam nodded, "It suits her." Slowly he leaned down, running his finger over the soft tufts of hair on his daughter's head. "My little Natalie." Natalie closed her eyes under his touched and drifted off to sleep in her mother's arms. "She's perfect."
Aubrey grinned at him softly. She was perfect and despite everything, this moment was perfect as well.
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otherxcore · 12 years
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If you read slash, a review on my new fic would be an excellent Christmas gift. A rating might also be nice, since I have none yet and I feel like people avoid fics with reviews and no ratings because they assume the reviews are bad. I could be wrong, but that's the impression I've always gotten. Alternatively, you could just let me know what you thought via message or something so I can stop second-guessing my choices.
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longeyelashedtragedy · 12 years
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YES!
new fic is on the site!
javey pwp from an author i like yesssss.
i ought to stop lurking...
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coldeternalarchive · 10 years
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Inconceivable
Title:   Inconceivable
Author:  MorganOfChaos
Genre:  AFI-Javey
Rating: NC 17 Chapter 3/45
  Jade had fallen asleep on the couch, and now he would be pissed off the whole day due to a painful stiff neck. But that didn’t matter much; he didn’t really have much to do what with his paintings going to the gallery down the corner and the showing not till Thursday. Two whole days…He mused rubbing his neck.
  He shuffled into the small kitchen area and put on a kettle for tea while still rubbing sleep from his brown eyes. He figured that with the cash he would earn from these paintings and the possible commission money he could make would be enough for him to buy a new coat. I still can’t believe I gave my favorite trench coat to a hooker. Jade mused, he immediately mentally scolded himself, Davey wasn’t that bad of a person.
  How do you know? An inner voice asked.
  I just do. He replied before realizing that the kettle was whistling loudly. He turned off the heat and poured it into his cup. A knock on his door made him jolt and he spilt some of the hot water down the front of his shirt.
  “Fuck!” He cried pulling the shirt away from his skin.
  By the time he got to the door, no one was there, just his coat lying on the floor with a note on top. He looked both ways down the hall and after confirming that no one was there, he picked up the jacket and note and headed inside.
  He pulled off the wet shirt as he unfolded the note.
  Jade,
  I thank you so much for your hospitality. I would never in a million years hope to find someone with more kindness than you showed me last night. I’m returning your coat, I don’t want to get it ruined, it’s far too nice for someone like me. For all your insistency, I doubt we’ll see each other again, so, goodbye Jade.
-Davey Havok.
  “Havok…” Jade mused. Who the fuck names themselves Havok? Jade drank his tea quietly leaning up against the counter musing over the showing of his art.
Two hours later Jade decided it was time to leave the house, he’d been reading a Stephen King novel and had begun to feel a bit restless at it’s completion. Soon he found himself walking in the crowded streets gazing out at life. He found an ideal bench and sat himself down with a sketchbook and let it lie open on his lap. He draped his arm over the back of the bench and looked for a good target. A little girl in a blue dress sat in a booth at the diner across from Jade’s seat. Her mouth moved quickly as if she was telling a story and he began to draw her with an excited look in her eye and her hands over her heart. The family had long left the booth by the time Jade had even begun to make the mass of lines look like the little girl he’d seen. But as the sun began to set and the thick crowds went home to families of their own, the little girl came out of the drawing, and even though Jade had tried his hardest to recreate a look of bliss and joy, all he saw was loneliness and a look of insatiable despair. It seemed that no matter what was good in his life something deep within him perverted that and made it seem a horrible dream of twisted lies and misfortune. Had his life been that bad? And if so, where had he been for the downfall of his Eden?
  With a sigh he closed the sketchbook and stood, trench coat sliding over his shoulders as he headed back home.
  Streetlamps lit his shoes as he walked and he seemed fascinated with the way the black and white foot apparel looked under the tint of the yellowish light of a false moon.
  It was dark in the hallway of his apartment building when he arrived, a common occurrence, as the lazy landlords would forget to replace bulbs in the hall. A dim light still shone through from two still working light bulbs. Jade could hear shouts from an apartment across from his, and the words were clear.
“You stupid slut! Did I say you could come yet?”
  Even the slap rang through the walls as Jade looked for his keys. He vaguely heard the door open behind him.
  “Get out, whore,” a gruff voice demanded.
  A door slammed and muffled sobs were heard. Jade’s curiosity got the best of him and he let his eyes wander. A thin boy was pushing his shoes onto his feet and pulling on a shirt over his tattooed body, covering the most gorgeous black angel wings Jade had ever seen. The long black hair was a dead giveaway.
  “Davey.”
  “Not now Jade.”
  “Come here, come in-”
  “Not now Jade,” he hissed.
  “Davey I want to help.”
  “You can’t help. Just stay the fuck out of it,” Davey said turning to face Jade.
  The whole right side of his face was red and his lip bled a bit from the strength of the slap and his eyeliner ran down his face creating a helpless look, and Jade wholeheartedly believed that Davey was helpless, Davey was nothing more than a beaten dog on two feet.
  “No. Get in here. Now,” Jade’s tone left no room for argument and Davey glared at Jade before entering the red tinted comfort of the apartment he’d been in more than a whore should.
Davey crossed his arms and dropped himself into a chair looking like he was pouting. Jade pulled another chair close to Davey’s and looked at the man whose face was turned away.
  “Davey.”
  “I don’t want to be here.”
  “I don’t want you out there.”
  “It’s not your choice is it?” Davey countered.
  Davey’s intense hazel eyes bored holes into Jade’s brown but he kept his gaze.
  “It isn’t. But I’ll make it my choice if you’re going to get hurt like this,” he said touching Davey’s abused face gently.
  “Why the fuck do you even care?” Davey exploded fresh tears coursing down his eyes.
  “I don’t know.”
  “What do you want from me?” He sobbed.
  “Nothing…well, that’s a lie, I want you to be safe.”
  Jade wiped tears from Davey’s eyes and handed him a tissue.
  Davey blew his nose and balled up the tissue in his fist before depositing it into the trashcan. Jade wanted so much to protect the wounded being in front of him that seemed to need it so badly. Jade didn’t want Davey to be out there all alone.
  And Jade didn’t want to be in here all alone.
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totalimmortals · 11 years
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I am so devastated to hear that afislash.com is shutting down, I was really worried when I tried to visit the site a little while ago and it couldn’t connect, because I’ve been on it almost every night for quite a time now, and then I read a post about it being shut down… This makes me so miserable; I’ve probably read at least 50 fics from that website, I absolutely LIVED for their humorous Javey ones, and there were so many I was looking forward to reading, and now it’s like… Nope. Yet another thing I tuned into far too late. Sometimes I really wish I’d been my age now in the earlier 2000s, just so I could have experienced some really awesome AFI stuff while it was actually happening, like DU-era and more of that website. This might seem like a ridiculous thing because it’s just about a website containing pure fictional works but I mean it’s kind of sad looking at the fact that it’s been around since 2004 and now it’s gone. I’m really going to miss that thing.
After all that, does anyone know the reason behind its closing?
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